Question Need suggestions on ssd

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hasib22

Mar 4, 2025
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I recently upgraded from an Intel Core i3 7100, MSI B250M PRO-VDH, and 8+4GB 2400MHz RAM to a Ryzen 5 5600X, MSI B550M A PRO (bought second-hand), and 16x2=32GB 3200MHz RAM. Now I have a few questions:

1. How should I manage storage? My main priority is gaming. I currently have a 128GB M.2 SATA SSD where Windows is installed. Should I:

-Get a 1TB SATA SSD just for storing games?

-or Get a 1TB Gen 3 NVMe and install Windows on 150–200GB, using the rest for games?

-Or get a 1tb Gen 4 NVMe and do the same (Windows on 150–200GB and the rest for games)?

2. Aside from faster file transfer speeds and quicker game launch times, does an NVMe SSD serve any other purpose for gaming? Or is NVMe somewhat overrated for gaming? Is the difference noticeable if games are installed on a SATA SSD instead? Basically, what additional benefits does NVMe offer for gaming?

3. If I do go for an NVMe, should I choose one with DRAM or without?

4. I also want to know about the MSI B550M A PRO motherboard. I haven’t found many reviews about it. How is it for current use and also for future upgrades?
 
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My first thought is that that 128GB SSD hosting Windows is too small. It should be at least double that.

What games do you play? Are the games legal? Pirated games will be problematic no matter what hardware is installed and configured.

With respect to all drives: Make, model, capacity, how full?

Open the Disk Management window and expand so all can be seen.

Take a screenshot and post the screenshot here via imgur (www.imgur.com) > Green icon "New post".

More information needed.
 
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1| Reinstall your OS after the platform migration.

2| I tend to have the OS, app's and launchers installed on a small capacity SSD but in your instance, you're going to fill that SSD up in no time. A 500GB SSD that's your C drive is something I tend to keep.

3| I also don't partition my SSD's unless it's the OS drive which is partitioned by the OS installer. I leave my drives as one single partition, this helps reduce degradation on the drive and ensures your speeds aren't hit.

4| Where are you located, what is your budget for your SSD purchase and what is your preferred site for purchase? This site and the majority of our userbase are located in the USA, we ask the aforementioned questions to prevent wasting time going back and forth as brand and product availability can and will change due to region.

IMHO, if I was in your shoes, I wouldn't have invested on a motherboard that lacked proper VRM design in your instance that board doesn't have a heatsink. Ryzen 3000 and 5000 series did draw a little more power when compared to the Ryzen 1000 and 2000 series processors from AMD which often times resulted in the premature demise of some bottom of the barrel style motherboards. If you look through MSI's portfolio, you'll see that the board's design is similar to the Tomahawk(somewhat) but the VRM is of better design. You were given suggestions here;

Question - Confusion ?

Why are there not many reviews of the MSI B550M A Pro motherboard ? I bought one of them second-hand. Was it a mistake? Should I resell it?
forums.tomshardware.com forums.tomshardware.com

That being said, I don't think you have the option to return it and as such, ask first, then go buy. Not the opposite.
 
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Hello,

1, depending on how much your 128GB drive has been used I would be tempted to keep that drive for Windows and get a new NVMe drive for games. The motherboard supports Gen 3 in the second slot so depending on what is available/budget etc a new Gen 3 will be good enough. That said if a Gen 4 is available at a good price close to Gen 3 drives then go for that instead.

2, NVMe is faster, your PC will feel snappier, games will load more quickly. Levels will load more quickly and your games will feel more fluid because of this.

3, DRAM cache is a really good feature allowing the system to write “small” files to the SSD really fast freeing up the system to do something else while the SSD finishes writing to the storage. The link details the benefits
www.xda-developers.com

How important is DRAM in SSDs?

Let's break down why DRAM is a big deal for making your SSD work like a champ.
www.xda-developers.com www.xda-developers.com
 
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Since you have a m.2 slot capable of gen 4 performance, I would buy that.
If you mostly play a few games, 1tb should be sufficient. If you tend to play many new games, perhaps 2tb would be better.
Make it the C drive and do not partition.
Partitioning makes storage management more complicated.
All drives will be NVME which is a protocol.
PCIE connected drives will have much better sequential performance than SATA.
Random performance which is mostly what is done would be comparable.
The price today is comparable per gb.

Quality counts. Samsung is one of the best. Yes, you will pay more for one.
Do not chase the fastest X5 capable drives

As for your 120gb ssd, it really is not much use.
 
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I always partition, when I have a single drive. That way I do not lose all of my game installs, or any kind of files, if Windows become fubar and needs to be fresh installed. Less downtime that way. Having a back up is a good practice too. My personal favorites are Microcenter's Inland performance plus drives. They have Dram, are TLC, and have a 6yr warranty.
 
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hasib22 said:
I recently upgraded from an Intel Core i3 7100, MSI B250M PRO-VDH, and 8+4GB 2400MHz RAM to a Ryzen 5 5600X, MSI B550M A PRO (bought second-hand), and 16x2=32GB 3200MHz RAM. Now I have a few questions:

1. How should I manage storage? My main priority is gaming. I currently have a 128GB M.2 SATA SSD where Windows is installed. Should I:

-Get a 1TB SATA SSD just for storing games?

-or Get a 1TB Gen 3 NVMe and install Windows on 150–200GB, using the rest for games?

-Or get a 1tb Gen 4 NVMe and do the same (Windows on 150–200GB and the rest for games)?

2. Aside from faster file transfer speeds and quicker game launch times, does an NVMe SSD serve any other purpose for gaming? Or is NVMe somewhat overrated for gaming? Is the difference noticeable if games are installed on a SATA SSD instead? Basically, what additional benefits does NVMe offer for gaming?

3. If I do go for an NVMe, should I choose one with DRAM or without?

4. I also want to know about the MSI B550M A PRO motherboard. I haven’t found many reviews about it. How is it for current use and also for future upgrades?
Click to expand...
If the budget allows get a 250GB or larger sata ssd for the OS and apps.

Get a 2TB gen4 ssd for the games.
 
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Ralston18 said:
My first thought is that that 128GB SSD hosting Windows is too small. It should be at least double that.

What games do you play? Are the games legal? Pirated games will be problematic no matter what hardware is installed and configured.

With respect to all drives: Make, model, capacity, how full?

Open the Disk Management window and expand so all can be seen.

Take a screenshot and post the screenshot here via imgur (www.imgur.com) > Green icon "New post".

More information needed.
Click to expand...

Ralston18 said:
My first thought is that that 128GB SSD hosting Windows is too small. It should be at least double that.

What games do you play? Are the games legal? Pirated games will be problematic no matter what hardware is installed and configured.

With respect to all drives: Make, model, capacity, how full?

Open the Disk Management window and expand so all can be seen.

Take a screenshot and post the screenshot here via imgur (www.imgur.com) > Green icon "New post".

More information needed.
Click to expand...
Yes 128gb is not enough. But it is manageable. I am thinking of keeping 150/200 gb from c drive. What should I keep. 150/200.

I mainly play games like cod, rdr2, nfs. That means all big sized games. *removed by mod*
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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geofelt said:
Since you have a m.2 slot capable of gen 4 performance, I would buy that.
If you mostly play a few games, 1tb should be sufficient. If you tend to play many new games, perhaps 2tb would be better.
Make it the C drive and do not partition.
Partitioning makes storage management more complicated.
All drives will be NVME which is a protocol.
PCIE connected drives will have much better sequential performance than SATA.
Random performance which is mostly what is done would be comparable.
The price today is comparable per gb.

Quality counts. Samsung is one of the best. Yes, you will pay more for one.
Do not chase the fastest X5 capable drives

As for your 120gb ssd, it really is not much use.
Click to expand...
The mobo has only 1 nvme slot. And it is gen4 slot. So I have to use 1 nvme. So have to do partition. Is there any way to solve the matter?
 
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USAFRet said:
Even with 1 slot, there no absolute need to partition that drive.

500GB - 1TB for the OS and maybe some games.
1-2TB SATA III for other games.
Click to expand...
There is a risk. If windows crash then all the games will be removed that was kept in c drive. Thats why i m talking about partitioning.
And is the difference between the sata ssd and nvme is so much?
 
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hasib22 said:
There is a risk. If windows crash then all the games will be removed that was kept in c drive. Thats why i m talking about partitioning.
And is the difference between the sata ssd and nvme is so much?
Click to expand...
That what a good backup routine is for.

If ANY of the 6 drives in my system were to die RIGHT NOW...nothing is lost.


In the context of gaming, not a lot of real difference between different flavors of SSD.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YoRKQy-UO4

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DKLA7w9eeA

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQ9LyNXpsOo
 
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